Bathing Question

[PiggieHerd]

I hear and read allot of conflicting opinions on this matter. The rescue where I adopted my girls informed me that I should bathe my piggies 4x a year, which is once every 3 months. That was one of the requirement for me being able to adopt my girls. This other forum would say I should never bathe guinea pigs (which I'm not a fan of the forum, bunch of rude totalitarian members).

How often do you bathe your pigges?

 

[Luna17]

From what I have heard, you shouldn't bathe your guinea pigs more than twice a year. I would think that you should only have to bathe them when the vet recommends it, or they have fleas, mites, etc.

 

[Jennifer D]

I'll give mine a little rinse if they have poopy toes or dirty faces. But I think every three months full wash is a bit excessive. It could depend on the guinea pig though. Kind of like dog breeds. I only wash my dog twice a year and she's a lab. But I would wash my other long haired dog twice as often.

 

[Piggly]

My long haired ones only get a bath if needed, which is rare. Daphne is bit prone to getting wee bum, but normally its solved by cutting her hair short. Sometimes one or both get a bum wash if there is any muck build up I worry might affect their skin.

 

[Freela]

I really seldom due an all-over bath without a reason. I will spot clean any dirty areas (Sundae has an overactive grease gland that needs cleaning every couple of months) or if there's a skin condition requiring it (Sundae also occasionally gets fungal patches on her belly that need washing with antifungal shampoo and then treating with antifungal cream.) Otherwise, I only wipe down/clean what's dirty. I always worry they will be too cold... I've found it's very hard to get all that fur to dry, particularly in any season but summer.

 

[Flutterby]

My girls get bathed one a year, twice the most if needed, and only in summer. My long haired girls get weekly bum baths which is just a rinse through with some warm water.